I'm Not Him
by Tasan
Summary: It was not necessarily the fact that the guy was staring that made him uneasy…It was the look that the guy gave him that was ultimately off-putting. Roxas frowned ever so slightly as the aqua eyes across the cafeteria remained focused on him, giving him the feeling that they were not just looking at him, but staring directly into his naked soul. Chapter 3 is up! RikuRoku.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters. Should the opportunity to acquire such arise, you would bet that I would be first in line to purchase. I do not own the story's cover image, either. Props for that go to the amazingly talented Rubyd. You can find the image along with some of her other works here:**

** gallery/585698?offset=24#/dysdnf **

**Rating: M for future chapters, to be sure.**

* * *

Prologue

* * *

Campus was not incredibly large, Roxas had come to find after having traversed its roads, student paths and hallways for the past week. He had decided that he was relieved; Initially, coming to a smaller school had been a turn-off. However, with its mature trees, detailed landscaping, historical buildings, and updated facilities, he had decided it was not that bad. Not that he had gotten much of a choice when it came to picking this place. While his dream school had accepted him, they had done so without offering him any level of funding. His safety school, on the other hand, had offered him a generous scholarship. All he had to pay was food and textbook expenses. Most people he had explained his situation to called it a "free ride". So naturally, when it came down to choosing which school he wanted to go to…

His parents had not been too fond of letting him pull out loans for an education that he already had money for thanks to his good grades and top scores on his standardized tests. So it was with a heavy heart that he had sent his letter of decline to his dream school, informing them that without sufficient support on the college's part, he was unable to attend.

So, it had been mature trees, detailed landscaping and historical buildings that had greeted him a week ago, his life packed away and shoved into his car, filling all available spaces and even encroaching into the driver's seat a little. Finding his way around campus in his car was easy enough; Signs were posted at every turn, directing newcomers through the academic spread. Occasionally, while wandering from class to class, he still felt that same awe that he had upon arrival. The campus looked large to the untrained eye, giving the illusion of vast expanses of unused green space for students to relax or perhaps play a quick game of Ultimate Frisbee.

Classes were smaller as well, comparatively speaking. There were no more than fifty students per introductory course, as far as he had counted, which was nice. It gave a more…intimate feeling to the classroom. To not be known as a number was a plus, to be sure.

Amenities were also great. The campus dining hall was a stand-alone building surrounded by a strip-mall-esque structure that housed some boutiques, bookstores and even a couple of arcades. A smoothie shop was currently being built in, and personally, he could not wait to try it out. For now, though, he was stuck in the cafeteria. There were restaurants in the dining hall, but they were a little on the expensive side or they were fast food. There was a Faculty Lounge in the basement that he had looked into, but as the name suggested, general student body was not allowed unless they were being escorted by a faculty member to some event within the lounge. The cafeteria was good, though. The food was decent, the fountain drinks were free refills, and it was all you could eat with no time limit.

But something still perturbed him, despite all of the finer points of this place. People here were intimidating, for some reason. He'd had plenty of friends back at his old high school, but none of them had joined him in his choice of college…so he was alone. He instantly regretted not signing up for the roommate placement program offered by the dorm he was staying in, instead having selected a single room for more privacy. At the time, it had seemed like the optimum choice. After all, who wanted to share their four hundred square foot space with someone else day after day on end? Maybe, if he found that he was lonely, he would sign up for the roommate thing next semester.

His lack of friendships so far was not due to shyness. He'd actually been voted "most outgoing" by his senior class, so he knew that was not the issue. No. It was quite simply because he was different. With his brilliant blue eyes, lightly sun-kissed skin and incredibly spikey hair, he stood out. People here seemed relatively normal for the most part. Though, there was a few that appeared to forcibly push at the margins of normality…

And currently, one of those people was making him shift in the booth that he occupied. For the past ten minutes he had found himself unable to finish off his fries and grilled cheese sandwich, staring intently at his textbook and pretending to study…for if he looked up, he found another set of eyes on him. Every single time he looked up.

It was unnerving.

Not only was this guy staring, but he had the clearest pair of sea-green, almost aqua eyes that he had ever seen. Silver hair would occasionally slide over the eyes, the teen's bangs being just a little too long and a little too fine to stay out of his eyes for more than a few moments. From what it looked like, his hair was long, too…which was peculiar. No one that he had known (save for girls) wore their hair like that. He was also somewhat pale; it was as though he did not spend an inordinate amount of time outside, opting more for indoor activities like reading a book or perhaps playing a video game. A black (kind of a little too tight) shirt covered his upper body and he wore a kind of cloth over his forearm, the white material descending loosely down to conceal half of his palm. From there, he could not see what else the guy was wearing.

After a couple moments of uncomfortable, fleeting glances toward the student, the image of an ice cap floating on the ocean on a clear, sunny day in Antarctica popped into his head. Ice and the sea… Cerulean eyes flicked up once more, not particularly pleased about having the guy's attention. Yes, with his skin, hair and eyes, the kid could easily embody something like the image in his head.

For the first ten minutes, he had tried dutifully to ignore the guy, gnawing on a fry for far too long and staring at the same sentence in his book for the duration of the seemingly endless fry. When he looked up once more and saw those eyes still locked onto his general area, he repressed a growl, grasping a bit haphazardly for his drink. This was beginning to get ridiculous. He could feel the irritation settling in the pit of his stomach, making his limbs tingle and his skin prickle a little.

It was not necessarily the fact that the guy was staring that made him uneasy…It was the look that the guy gave him that was ultimately off-putting. Those pale lips were set in a straight line, save for the corners tilted down slightly, as though he were constantly in a somber or even depressed mood. Roxas frowned ever so slightly as the aqua eyes across the cafeteria remained focused on him, giving him the feeling that they were not just looking at him, but staring directly into his naked soul. Perhaps he was staring past him at someone behind him? He looked over his shoulder surreptitiously and then frowned when he saw the booth behind him was vacant. That was the last booth in his row. Blue eyes returned to the stare that was motionless on him. Maybe…he was just…zoned out?

He waved a hand in front of him a little, tensing when he saw the other shift. One silver eyebrow rose and then the gaze left him. Roxas sat there for a second, staring. W-What the hell? What a creeper! He really was just staring at him! A glare came to his eyes and he forced them back down to the table. Well at least the guy was not staring at him anymore. Blue eyes flicked up to check. Nope. Not staring. Good.

He twirled a fry between his fingers, frowning at it as he attempted to decide if he wanted to finish his food or not. He had a half a sandwich left and had eaten most of his fries…but now it felt like more eyes were fixated on him, observing him, judging him.

The fry was flung back to his plate in an unwanted gesture, and he shoved the porcelain dish away. Instead, he pulled his glass to him, absently attempting to catch the straw between his lips and failing a few times, chasing the little plastic utensil around the glass for a second. Upon success, the glass was drained in a couple of gulps, the ice settling with a few light clinks and clacks.

If anything, this was excuse enough to take another long stroll around campus and then return to his dorm to finish unpacking. He placed the glass down on the table and then went about gathering his belongings, checking under the bench to make sure nothing had been forgotten. He cleaned his own table, unable to leave a mess behind as he had been a waiter for the last two years of his high school career. Once he was satisfied, he slung his bag over his shoulder and carried his tray to the front of the room, stopping in front of the trashcan. Still…Azure eyes returned to the table that the student had been at as he discarded his food into receptacle. Even though the guy was no longer there (how long had Roxas sat there glowering at that one offending fry?), he could still feel the gaze upon him, penetrating him.

It was unnerving.

* * *

**A slightly short start to what is likely to be a long story.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters. I do not own the story's cover image, either. Props for that go to the amazingly talented Rubyd. You can find the image along with some of her other works here:**

**I want to thank the people who reviewed the prologue. It encouraged me to continue writing this. I hope that people will continue to review and offer both compliments and constructive criticism. **

**Rating: M for future chapters, to be sure.**

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

There. Finally unpacked. Roxas lifted his arm to let the long sleeve of his shirt catch the beads of sweat that had formed on his brow, leaving a cooling sensation in its wake as the fabric pulled across his skin. The early afternoon sun filtered in through his window, warming the carpet that he stood on. He looked around his small room with a sense of accomplishment. A desk sat in the corner, his laptop and textbooks resting on the surface along with a pile of papers that had been unceremoniously dumped from his backpack onto the wood. Next to that was his dresser, his small TV perched on top so that it could be easily seen from his bed, which was poised on the opposite wall. It was now covered by dark blue sheets and a black and white checkered bed spread.

In all, he had maybe six feet of walking space around his room, but for one person, that would be enough. At least he had his own bathroom, which was laid out in a separate room just inside of his room by his front door. He whipped out his cell phone and took a quick snap of the room, shooting the picture off to his mother with the caption "Take a good look! It'll never be this clean again!" He could already picture the response she would give him, and it let him with a grin on his lips.

A knock on his door brought him out of his thoughts and then he grinned a little bigger. Hayner was here. He rushed to the door, pulling it open to reveal his new friend.

"Hey, Hayner!"

"Sup, man?"

Hayner was what Roxas considered to be a mix of grunge, punk and nerd all rolled into one. He had honey brown eyes and dirty blond hair that looked like it had been caught in a tornado and tangled beyond all reason. It stood up wildly on the top of his head. He was another student that kind of stood out around here, simply because of his hair. He wore a simple black tank top with cargo shorts printed with military style camo. He was thin, too. Not exactly scrawny, but not exactly built either. Just…thin. Roxas felt that they matched almost perfectly. He stepped aside and pushed the door open further so that Hayner could come in. Eh, why not leave it propped open? He kicked the doorstop down and then moved inside, Hayner following after him.

"Finally got it unpacked, huh?" Hayner wasted no time making himself comfortable, flopping down on the teen's bed and kicking off his shoes. Then he sprawled out on the mattress, "No fair! Yours is so much more comfortable than mine."

Roxas felt a laugh bubble to his lips as he watched the blond across from him, leaning against his dresser and crossing his arms over his chest, "It's just a mattress pad…one of those memory foam things."

Hayner paused for a second and then gave a hum of contemplation.

"I need to get me one of those, then." It was mumbled under his breath before he shrugged and sent Roxas a grin, his brown eyes glittering a little, "You get that stuff read for English?"

Roxas looked down at the text book that rested on his desk, the shiny cover that proclaimed it an English text book staring back at him. The page that he was supposed to start on was held in the closed book by the highlighter that he truthfully had every intention of using when he first put it there.

"I started it," he lied, "Why, did you finish it?"

Hayner scoffed and then laughed, "Hell no. Not even started. I was hoping you could fill me in."

Roxas smirked, "Well at least you're honest about it."

The remark earned a proud grin from his friend, who stretched out and then placed his arms behind his head for increased padding, eyes closing.

"Your bed is seriously comfortable. Might just come over here and nap."

"What is this? A hotel service?" Roxas said with a wry smirk. Hayner opened his eyes long enough to shoot his friend a wink.

"You knew what this friendship was when we started it! Do you offer room service? I could go for some lunch right about now!"

Roxas laughed despite the jab at the beginning of the sentence, knowing that Hayner was teasing. He had that kind of abrasive personality, and he knew by now to just take those kinds of comments in stride.

"Lunch sounds good, but there's no room service. Get your ass up so we can get to the cafeteria."

Hayner gave a theatrical whine and flail upon the sheets before dragging himself up to a sitting position and standing.

"After lunch, do you want to head down to the mall or something?"

The hopeful tone in Hayner's voice drew a smile to Roxas' lips. He really did want to spend more time with him. He wasn't just mooching for homework after all.

"Sure. Only if you promise that after that we can come back and work on that English assignment together."

Another whine greeted his ears, though Hayner was grinning, "Alright, fine. You and your homework issues."

"Forgive me for wanting to pass my first semester of college." Roxas teased, nudging Hayner's arm as they moved toward the door.

The walk to the cafeteria was uneventful; just talk about how they liked the school so far and what about it appealed to them the most as they walked along one of the dirt paths that led from Roxas' dorm to the dining hall. Hayner had come because it was the only school that a couple of his friends had come to. Roxas, upon showing interest in his friends, received a promise that Hayner would introduce them when they all got together next. He was already anticipating the meeting. After lamenting his own story about why he'd decided to come here, Roxas found himself walking up the steps to the dining hall.

The cafeteria was busier than normal; people were buzzing between lines, trying to cut in here and there so they could get to their food faster. Anyone that so much looked like they were going to cut in front of himself and Hayner, Hayner growled at and glared at. No one took their chances.

"No one gets between you and your food, huh?" Roxas said with a laugh, grinning at his friend.

"When I'm hungry, you better believe it. What is this line for, anyway?" Hayner lifted up on his toes and then made a show about trying to see the sign in the front, shifting to the left and then right.

"Sandwiches…burgers and stuff."

"Mm I could go for a burger…and some fries."

Roxas smirked, "You're in the right place, then. Do you not eat up here that often?"

Hayner shrugged and continued to look around the area, "I tend to go upstairs and do the fast food thing. Hey, is that free ice cream?"

"All you can eat. Drinks are free refill too."

Hayner's mouth dropped open, and he appeared to contemplate something.

"You mind if I tag along with you for meals? This place is cheaper than fast food…you know…all the free stuff."

Roxas laughed, "You know you're more than welcome to. We could even bring our-"

"No. That's where I draw the line. Food time is food time! We can worry about homework later!"

Roxas' laughter grew, and he punched Hayner lightly on the shoulder, "I _knew_ you'd say that!"

Then it was their turn in line, and they ordered their food. Hayner came out of the fray with three cheeseburgers and a mountain of fries, Roxas coming out with only one burger and a side of fries. He looked Hayner up and down and raised an eyebrow, receiving a laugh from the other boy.

"High metabolism."

"I'll say."

Their drinks were next on the menu, and then they went to find a place to sit. Roxas chose the same bench he always sat at, sitting down so that his back was facing the booth and wall behind him, Hayner's back to the rest of the cafeteria.

"So do you know of anywhere cool to go around town? I've not had time to get out and drive around to explore, so I'm curious."

Hayner poked a couple of fries between his lips and ate them with vigor before he nodded, "Well there's the mall, the skate park, the clock tower…lots of places. We'll have to take this weekend and go out to all of them! I can show you around town easily."

Roxas tilted his head as he brought his burger up to his mouth and took a bite. Mmm burger.

"Have you lived here long? I thought you had just moved here like me."

Hayner shook his head after devouring another handful of fries, "Nope. I've been here all my life. Born and raised here. That was why my friends came to school here. They didn't want to leave."

"I take it this is a good place to live, then?"

Hayner shrugged and then laughed a little off-handedly, "More like people who've lived here all their life don't know any different, so they don't feel the urge to leave."

Roxas frowned a little, "Oh. Well…alright then."

"Not that it's a bad place to live," Hayner interjected quickly, not wanting his city to come off that way, "Just…people are content here, you know?"

Roxas smiled and took a drink of his water, "Tell me about it."

Hayner grinned and relaxed when he heard that, launching into a story about his past, what it was like growing up here, and the festivals he attended. Roxas listened idly, focusing on eating his meal. Hayner was plowing through his burgers and fries while he spoke, somehow managing to do both without ever once speaking with his mouth full. Roxas thanked him silently for his manners.

He had gotten half way through his burger and almost finished his fries when he felt something strange come over him. The hairs on the nape of his neck stood on end, and he felt a buzzing sensation move through him. It felt as though he was being watched.

On instinct, his eyes shot up to look over Hayner's shoulder, only to be met with aqua. Again. That same guy! He'd been so wrapped up in talking to Hayner that he'd forgotten that this was the time that guy normally came to eat lunch! And he'd sat in the same booth he always did!

His hand stopped almost to his mouth, a fry dangling between his fingers as he watched those cold aqua eyes give him a once over and then stay on him. He looked away, forcing the fry into his mouth and chewing as he tried to ignore that penetrating gaze on him.

Why was it that this guy appeared every single day while he was having lunch and just sat there and stared at him? Unnerving. That stupid word came to his mind again, and he grit his teeth together, grinding them gently.

Time to end this once and for all. Like hell was he going to sit here and be intimidated all through lunch for the rest of the semester. He did not need a stalker, and that was the vibe this guy was giving him.

He slammed his book closed, startling Hayner out of his one-sided conversation. Brown eyes regarded Roxas with a frown as the other teen began to pack up his things, grumbling about something as he ignored his friend for the time being. He had other things to deal with right now.

"Did you hear anything I just said? What are you doing?" He could hear the concern in Hayner's voice, but for now didn't answer. He swung his bag over his shoulder and picked up his tray, stalking off to the doors.

"Let's get out of here." He tossed it over his shoulder like it was an after-thought to his friend and then heard Hayner scramble to get his things together, wrapping up the rest of his burger in a napkin so that he could finish it later. Once again, Roxas was not done with his lunch yet, but he was sufficiently creeped out enough that he really did not want to finish it… So it was dumped into the trashcan beside the door and he stomped over to the table where there creeper sat. The aqua eyes were turned down to his cell phone now, focused on writing out a text to someone. Hayner hung back a couple of feet behind Roxas, and he could feel the confused look that was burning into the back of his head. He would explain when they left.

"So I told Selphie that I would go to the party with her this weekend on one condition…" The blond boy that sat at the table said, trailing off on a suggestive tone. Another teen with fiery red hair laughed and then gave him a grin.

"Way to go, man. That's one way to do it." Then he paused, green eyes flicking over to the person who was now standing at their table, glaring at them, "Can…we help you?"

"You got a problem with me?" Roxas said, glaring at the boy with silver hair that had been staring at him for the past ten minutes. Those aqua eyes slid up to Roxas again and he resisted the urge to snarl.

"You know this kid, Riku?" The red head said with a raised eyebrow. Riku, huh? Well he was going to give Riku a piece of his mind one way or another.

"Are you joking me?" The response from Riku was cold as ice, sliding from the pale lips in an aloof, confident tone. His expression was one of sarcastic disgust as he looked at his red headed friend. Then he looked back to Roxas, his sneer apparent, "Do you always come up to people you don't know and yell at them?"

Roxas ground his teeth together, "Only creepers who spend half their lunch staring at me! So what is it? You got a problem with me?"

The red head raised an eyebrow and looked at Riku expectantly. Riku had been staring at this kid? He'd joined in their conversation as though nothing was amiss, so he'd not thought to look at him for more than a second or two, just in passing as the conversation bounced around the table.

That silver eyebrow rose again as he was accused and then he stood up. Roxas resisted the urge to gulp as the pale teen towered a good head above him.

"I might if you don't get out of my face."

Hell, that tone could have frozen magma while it was still in the Earth. Roxas lifted his chin defiantly, standing his ground.

"Then leave me alone. If I catch you staring at me again, you're going to regret it." With that, he stomped off and out of the cafeteria, Hayner following behind him with a dumbfounded expression.

* * *

Riku remained in his standing position for a few seconds, glaring after the blonds as they left…undeniably staring, in Axel's opinion. It was only after he was sure they were not coming back that he sat down and went back to texting on his cell.

Strange.

That was the first word that came to mind at Riku's behavior.

"So…what was that about? You were staring at him?"

"I don't know what that little prick was talking about, alright?"

Axel raised an eyebrow as Riku's tone became defensive, but he knew better than to bring it up here in front of Tidus and Wakka. Tidus, on the other hand, did not know better.

"Riku, what's going on? You seem awful defensive about it."

Aqua eyes shot straight over to the blond boy and Tidus shrank a little in his chair, "Sorry…just…"

"Drop it."

Axel let out a soft breath before he started in on his salad again. Tonight, when they were back in their dorm, he would ask Riku what was going on. Wakka went about comforting Tidus as the blond sought him out for such, the islander laughing gently and simply saying, "That's Riku, man. We just don't ask a brother questions like that, yeah?"

Axel's eyes moved to Riku again, gazing at him. Only someone who knew him would be able to tell that he was not agitated anymore... He was depressed.

* * *

"Dude! Roxas…slow down! Seriously, wait up!"

Roxas ceased his stomping pace across the quad and then waited for Hayner to catch up to him, still seething. He tried his hardest to avoid confrontation. His body shook lightly with the adrenaline of calling someone out like he just had.

Hayner caught up to him and then frowned, watching Roxas for a few seconds.

"Going to explain what happened back there?" he prompted, unwrapping the cheeseburger he had taken from the cafeteria and biting into it.

"Just what you saw. That guy has been staring at me now for a week…every time I go to the cafeteria, he and his friends sit at that same table, he sits in that same chair, and he stares at me through all of lunch. It would be one thing if he was just zoning out, but he's not. He's actually just staring at me. I don't need a stalker, Hayner. I'm not going to put up with creepy stuff like that."

Hayner brought up a hand and his cheeseburger in front of him to show that he wasn't trying to judge him about it or anything.

"I hear ya, man. Well, hopefully he'll leave you alone from now on. If not, he can get acquainted with my fists."

Hayner grinned at the implication, and Roxas found that he was unable to keep his own from sliding across his lips.

"Both of ours. Thanks, man."

"Ehh, what are friends for? You'd do the same for me if I had some creepy stalker guy staring at me, right?"

"Totally."

"Good! Now, let's hit up the mall. We'll get some ice cream and play some games in the arcade."

Roxas nodded gratefully and then followed Hayner back to the dorms and to the guy's car, "So if you've lived here all your life, why do you live in the dorms?"

"I'll be honest with you here; my parents kicked me out when I graduated high school. They felt like I needed the whole college experience. I'm allowed to go home on weekends and see them and stay with them if I want, but I'm not allowed to live there. Not like I want to, you know? I'm excited to be out on my own."

Roxas considered that for a few seconds and then consented, "I suppose I see where you're both coming from on that. I can't say I would have wanted to live with my parents if I went to school back there either."

Roxas' car was voted the vehicle of the day by Hayner, and in a matter of minutes, they were off down the road, heading toward the mall. Roxas wished that he could say that being with Hayner took his mind off of everything…

But then, he would be lying.

Wouldn't he?

* * *

**End of Chapter 1. **

**Again, thank you to those who reviewed last time. Suggestions and comments are always appreciated. This chapter was a little longer than the first, but still shorter than I think chapters should be, so I apologize. Either way. I hope to have the second chapter up soon.**

**Thank you again.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters.**

**I do not own the story's cover image, either. Props for that go to the amazingly talented Rubyd. You can find the image along with some of her other works at .com**

**I also would like to thank those who reviewed me for Chapter 1 and the Prologue. You keep me writing, which is helping to keep me sane as my research advisor makes it his personal mission to make my PhD a living hell.**

**Just on a side note, since I'm not sure I said it to begin with, I won't have an updating schedule, nor will these chapters come out quickly. I'm sure most of you are aware that semester is in full swing and it is actually past midterms, so that has bogged me down quite a bit. **

**Thanks for bearing with me, though. I'm glad that I have people who like this enough to stick with me to read the next chapter. Hopefully this will be a little longer than the past few chapters :P**

**Rating: M for future chapters, to be sure.**

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

Hayner had made it a point to touch just about every button in his car three times, which prompted Roxas to inquire as to if he had OCD. That only drew a laugh from Hayner as he poked at Roxas' hazard lights button and reach over to honk the horn.

Roxas decided that Hayner was probably the most annoying kid on the planet…but that damned laugh of his was infectious! He knew why Hayner was acting like a four year old, though. It was to take his mind off of what had happened at lunch. Far more often than he was comfortable with, he found those aqua eyes staring at him from the back of his mind, making his skin bump and tingle with unease, the hair on his arms and neck stand on end.

And there they went again.

Hayner noticed and then playfully turned the heater on to full blast, making sure each of Roxas' car vents were aimed directly on the blond driver. Roxas cursed lightly and then turned the air down.

"Seriously?"

Hayner offered him an impish shrug and then grinned.

"You looked cold."

Roxas found himself grinning as well and just let the moment pass.

"So where is this mall that you're so excited to get to?"

"Turn left when you get to Maple. Then it's just a little ways down the street on the right. Good news, though, my friends said they would meet us here."

Roxas brightened a little at the prospect.

"Really? Was that who you were texting earlier?" About four seconds after they had jumped in the car (and a minute after Roxas had sat there, demanding that Hayner put on his seat belt), Hayner had whipped out his phone and madly texted someone. His thumbs were like blurs over the keypad; Roxas figured this was his primary means of communication.

"You bet. They're excited to meet you. I made you out to seem pretty cool, so don't let me down, man," Hayner winked at him and Roxas laughed.

"Gee, thank you for your help," Roxas teased in return, earning him a laugh from his friend.

Maple Street came up on him rather quickly, but he managed to make the turn without squealing his tires too much; it only proved to Hayner that Roxas had indeed just moved into town.

The mall was bigger than what he was used to. The town he came from was small compared to this place, he had found, but he was far from overwhelmed. It would be nice to not have to drive forty-five minutes to get to the nearest supermarket or department store. It appeared to have several entries, all decked out with signs of what stores they would find around that particular entrance.

So, after several minutes of prowling the parking lot for a space up front, he managed to secure one and turn the car off. Hayner jumped out of the car with enthusiasm and then moved around to the back, his hands patting his body as he made a dramatic show of being glad to be alive.

Roxas rolled his eyes and smirked at him as he walked by.

"You have to ride back with me, so you better prepare yourself if you think that was bad," he teased. Hayner laughed and slid an arm around Roxas' shoulders as they made their way to the entrance. Two people stood outside the entrance; a girl with shoulder length, dark brown hair and a boy with spikey black hair. Hayner's pace quickened as the girl turned and waved at him.

Roxas figured that these two were the ones that Hayner had wanted him to meet. His excitement was already bubbling through his chest. It sounded hokey even in his head, but it was always fun to meet new people and potential friends.

"Olette, Pence! Great to see you guys again!"

Hayner ran the last couple of steps, his arms wrapping around the girl in a quick hug and then his hand slapping against the boy's in greeting. The girl, Olette, beamed at him and then pulled back slightly from his embrace.

"No kidding! It feels like it's been forever."

The chubby boy who had just high fived Hayner laughed and then shot the girl a teasing look.

"Just a few days, Olette."

Olette stuck her tongue out at her friend and then smiled, green eyes glittering lightly as she looked to Hayner.

"Yes, well, we normally aren't apart from each other for that long, so it felt like forever."

Hayner smirked at her and offered her an almost simpering face of romance.

"Oh, Olette, does this mean you missed me? Could it be that you're finally coming around? Can't get enough of Hayner, huh?"

Olette rolled her eyes and pushed out of his embrace.

"If you're not careful, Seifer will hear you. I'm sure he's prowling around this place like a panther."

Pence offered Hayner an uneasy grin, shoving his hands into his pockets and glancing around.

"A loud and violent panther…without the grace."

Hayner hesitated, a flash of something moving across his face before it was gone. He waved his hand a little and put it out of his mind.

"Ehh, unless he's got supersonic hearing, I'm fine. Besides, why should I care what Seifer thinks about anything?"

Olette gave him a knowing look, both eyebrows rising in a "you know why" way. Hayner ignored it and turned, gesturing for Roxas to come up next to him. Roxas did as he was beckoned, moving up next to Hayner and trying to hide the little bit of shyness that came over him. So it was true. These guys really did appear to have known each other for a long time. More than just a few years, even.

"Guys, this is Roxas. Roxas, this is Pence and Olette, my best friends from high school."

Olette giggled a little and then offered him her hand.

"And middle school, and elementary school."

Roxas grinned when she said that and took her hand with a light shake.

"You guys have known each other a long time. It's great to meet both of you. Hayner has told me a lot about you both."

Pence picked up the handshake where Olette left off with a smile.

"Oh that's not good. What all has he told you?"

Hayner gave them a sheepish smile and ran his hand through his hair, getting his fingers caught in the mess of waves and then jerking them out again.

"Have some faith in me, guys! I told them nothing but good things!"

Olette gave a quiet little laugh and then nodded.

"Very well, Hayner. So! What did you guys want to do? The arcade isn't too busy right now."

"Sounds like that's what we're going to do, then!" Pence chimed in, to which Hayner agreed.

"Sound good, Rox?"

Roxas made a little face at the nickname, but a grin broke out easy enough.

"Sounds great! I've not been to an arcade in years."

Olette grabbed Hayner's hand and tugged him off toward the mall.

"Let's go, then!"

Roxas watched the three walk up to the sliding doors and then smiled, picking up his feet to follow after them. It was always great to make new friends.

The mall was busy, but not incredibly so. Due to their arrival time of just after lunch, they had managed to come in during a rare pocket of relative quiet. Most people were at work or school right now, after all. So, it was after a short trek through the mall and the food court that they found themselves at the mall arcade, enticing them with its blinking lights and mechanical sounds, the darkened depths of the room tempting them with the notion that more lay inside. Hayner and Pence ran inside without a word, pulling out their wallets so that they could buy game tokens. Olette laughed and shook her head.

"Those two. They're really just four year olds on the inside, you know?" She looked over to Roxas with a kind smile, which he couldn't help but return.

"Tell me about it. The whole drive over here, Hayner was poking just about every button he could reach, messing with the air, turning the stereo on and off, trying to get at my blinkers and windshield wipers…"

Olette laughed again.

"That does sound like Hayner. He has a bad habit of doing that. I've banned him from screwing with things in my car."

Roxas grinned and walked with her into the arcade.

"So do you go to school around here?"

Olette shook her head a little.

"No, unfortunately. Well…not unfortunately in the sense that I make it sound. I got accepted to a private college a town over that is known for their nursing program. My classes don't start for another two weeks, so I don't have to move just yet."

Roxas looked a little surprised at that and then smiled, "Man that's lucky. I would have liked another couple of weeks of summer vacation."

"You don't like your classes?" Olette asked with a concerned little frown on her lips. Roxas shook his head quickly and waved his hand.

"No, no it's nothing like that. Just…kind of nice to lie around and do nothing, right?"

Olette smiled and then looked across the room to Hayner and Pence, who had locked themselves into the virtual reality shooter and were currently spinning around with the headsets on and shouting at each other.

"You and Hayner are very much alike. I'm glad that he found a friend like you. We were…worried that he might fall into a…rougher crowd when he got into college."

Roxas paused and gazed at her for a second and then felt his cheeks heat just a little.

"Ah, well, it really started out as him mooching off of my homework, so…"

Olette laughed and then patted his shoulder gently before turning to go watch the boys.

"That will never stop. Just a warning."

Roxas frowned theatrically and sighed.

"Oh great."

Joining Olette with her laugh, he followed her over to the machine Hayner and Pence were in, watching the screen as his friends did a horrible job of blasting zombies that were quickly surrounding them.

It was a staggering defeat that prompted Hayner and Pence to give up on the virtual reality game, though they were quickly snapped up by some other arcade games, racing games, and shooting games. Roxas joined in, Olette hanging back and badgering each of them in turn about how the other was beating them, laughing the whole time.

"Man, outta cash already?" Hayner whined, thumbing through his wallet for a dollar that might have been seeking refuge in the folds and flaps of the leather billfold. Roxas was looking into his own wallet as well and then gave a laugh.

"Well, that was my lunch money for the week." he teased, to which Pence groaned.

"Aww, man! I knew I was saving that cash for something. Darn."

"Well if it isn't the chicken wuss and his posse."

Hayner tensed something awful, and Roxas was worried that he might actually snap one of the muscles in his neck due to how taut they were. Blue eyes sought out the new voice and he paused.

The newcomer's arms were crossed, a sneering smirk on his lips, ice blue eyes locked onto Hayner and only Hayner. A scar was sliced across the bridge of his nose, far tanner than the rest of his pale skin. A few spikes of blond hair poked out from beneath the black knit beanie he wore. He was toned and rather muscular for his age, and it appeared he had no problem showing it off. He wore a sleeveless black shirt and a pair of baggy dark blue jeans, tennis shoes rounding out his outfit.

"Seifer, how many times have I told you to stop calling him that?" Olette said with a frown, crossing her arms over her chest. Pence was the next up and he moved in front of Hayner a little.

"Back off, jerk. No one invited you."

"Getting your little friends to fight your battles for you, wuss?"

Roxas stepped forward and up to Seifer, making sure to get right in his line of sight of Hayner.

"Hey, asshole, you got a problem?"

One blond eyebrow rose up and Seifer's eyes took in the new person who stood in front of him, "And who's this? Got a new little friend, blondie?"

"You're talking to me now, prick, not Hayner. Leave him alone."

Seifer paused and then laughed in a gruff, taunting way before he let his hands move out to his sides.

"You think you're so tough? Let's go. I'll floor you like I floored french fry hair over there."

Roxas' fists clenched at his sides and then he felt a hand grab his wrist. He glanced over his shoulder and found Hayner's brown eyes gazing at him in a blank sort of way.

"Let's go."

And that was it. He released Roxas' hand, turned and left the arcade, Pence and Olette hurrying after him. Seifer watched him go and then scoffed before looking to Roxas. He stepped forward and looked down at the other, a menacing little look fixated right on the blue eyes that he was boring into.

"You better watch yourself, prick."

Roxas stood his ground and then Seifer shot him a cocky little smirk before turning and leaving. He watched him go before turning and moving outside of the arcade, finding Hayner against the wall and his arms crossed. Pence and Olette each had a hand on one of his shoulders, and Olette was murmuring something.

"Hey, uh…" Roxas began as he moved up to the group, "What…was-"

"It's nothing. Let's just…go do something else."

Roxas paused when Hayner said that and pulled himself out of his friend's reach, moving down toward one of the department stores at the end of the mall. Olette sighed gently, twisting a strand of her hair around her finger in a worried manner.

Pence frowned and then heaved a sigh as he watched his friend head off.

"Leave it to Seifer to screw stuff up. That guy just can't take a hint."

"Who is he?"

Olette looked to Roxas and then let out a gentle breath before gesturing for them both to walk with her. They followed after Hayner silently for a few moments, giving the teen some room.

"Seifer and Hayner dated in high school."

Roxas nearly stopped dead, stumbling for a second.

"They what? Are you kidding? Seifer was acting like he hated Hayner…" Hayner was gay? He wasn't sure which one he was more shocked about. Not that he really had an issue with it…he just hadn't met anyone who actually was.

"Nope. Not kidding. They were nearly inseparable. They've known each other longer than Olette and I have known Hayner. Grew up together, were best friends…dated from their freshman year to senior year."

Roxas frowned and then felt the question bubble to his lips.

"So what happened?"

"Seifer dumped Hayner because he felt like college was an experience he couldn't miss out on…dating wise. He felt like he could meet someone new…someone better. Hayner…didn't take it well. This was at the beginning of summer. Seifer stayed away from Hayner all summer, which was probably for the best. Pence and I tried our best to keep Hayner busy and occupied. This was the first time they've seen each other."

Pence gave a hum of thought and then sighed.

"Actually, Seifer goes to the university here. I'm pretty sure he's done everything he can to make sure that he's nowhere near Hayner, but…the chances of them running into each other, as you saw, aren't zilch."

Roxas frowned at Hayner's back and then shoved his hands into his pockets.

"What an asshole. If you ask me, Hayner deserves better anyway. Anyone who is that petty to just…turn around and act like none of that ever happened…Hayner shouldn't even worry about him."

Olette frowned and tossed the strands of hair she had been twisting around her finger behind her shoulder.

"If only it were that simple. Hayner really liked him. Maybe even loved him. I think, if Seifer came back and stopped acting like he is and told Hayner that he was sorry for everything he had done, Hayner would take him back."

They stepped through the department store entrance, the bell sounding to alert the staff. Hayner stopped at the end of the walkway and turned to wait for them. Roxas watched him for a few moments. He had never even guessed…Hayner did a good job of hiding it.

"So what now?" Hayner asked when they caught up to him, his tone almost back to normal. Olette thought for a few seconds and then simply shrugged.

"I was going to look for some new boots for fall…if you guys wouldn't mind going shopping for a little while."

Pence made a face and then grinned.

"Awww shopping? C'mon, 'Lette. I get enough of that with my mom."

Olette pushed him away from her in a playful little tease and Hayner smirked just a little, nodding.

"Shopping's fine. Lead the way."

Olette did just that, moving forward and bee lining to the shoe section. Hayner hung back and then his smirk dropped.

"They told you?"

Roxas cleared his throat a little and then shrugged just a bit.

"Yeah. It was kind of odd without context, so…"

Hayner was quiet for a few seconds and then shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants.

"Seifer isn't a bad guy." he began quietly, his eyes turning down to the faux marble floor that they were walking on, "He just…"

"You don't have to defend him to me." Roxas said quietly, "I mean…he could have defended himself just then, but he didn't. So…don't make excuses for him being an ass. You shouldn't put up with him treating you like that anyway. I know it was recent and all, but you shouldn't just lie down and take it."

Hayner didn't look up from the ground, brown eyes losing focus just a little before they firmed.

"You're right. Just hard to see someone that you've known for so long act like that, you know?"

Roxas nodded and then patted his friend on the shoulder.

"I know. But hey…don't worry about it for now. Just try to have fun….though I can't really say watching a girl try on boots for hours is fun."

Hayner smirked and laughed just a little.

"Yeah, well…Olette dealt with our arcade thing for an hour, so I can't really blame her for wanting to get us back."

Roxas grinned and nodded.

"Fair enough. Let's go, then. I think she's officially started."

Hayner nodded and made his way over to the racks upon racks of shoes, stopping in front of the bench that Olette had plopped down on.

"Where's Pence?"

Olette sent him a sweet little smile.

"He went to get me more boots in my size."

Roxas laughed and then ran his hand through his hair.

"Man he's whipped. Are you two dating or something?"

Olette immediately began to fumble with the boot in her hand and she turned bright red, staring at Roxas like he was crazy.

"N-no, of course not. He's just a good friend."

Roxas raised an eyebrow at that, but Hayner beat him to the punch, moving forward and slipping an arm around her thin shoulders, grinning at her.

"Aww, c'mon, Olette. You can tell us. We wouldn't say anything."

"Hayner, get off of me. I do not have a crush on Pence."

"Why are you so red, then? What's up with the blush, hmmm?"

Olette rolled her eyes at the coo in the last bit and then moved to push him away.

"I am not blushing."

"Not anymore."

Roxas snorted and then started laughing, which made them both pause and then look at him. Hayner was the next to laugh and then Olette joined in shortly after. Pence moved back to the group with four boxes of boots in his arms.

"What's so funny, guys?" he asked, dropping the boots next to Olette and then running his hand through his hair a little, "They didn't have the ones you really liked in your size out on the floor, but I had the guy go look in the back."

Olette turned bright red again and then nodded to Pence, smiling as she slipped on one of the boots, zipping it up to give her something to do.

"Thank you, Pence."

"Yes, thank you, Pence. You're such a sweetie." Hayner cooed, moving over to wrap both of his arms around the pudgy boy, his eyes right on Olette. The girl shot him a murderous glare and Hayner burst into laughter.

Pence stared at the two of them and then looked to Roxas, who was trying his hardest to not start laughing as well, not wanting to be on Olette's bad side so soon.

"What just happened?"

Roxas grinned and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it, man." If Pence didn't see it now, there was no point in making it obvious.

The laughter calmed down after a few moments and Olette commenced trying on boots. Then it was on to clothing, then on to accessories. By the end of it, each of them had two bags in their hands and Olette looked beyond pleased.

"So, when you said 'look for boots for fall' you really meant 'buy a whole new wardrobe for fall'? Good to know." Pence teased, to which Olette stuck her tongue out at him and gave him a teasing little look.

"So I got a little carried away…but still! I'm going to look cute."

"Yeah."

She turned red again when Pence said that, though she shot a look over her shoulder to Hayner, who had opened his mouth to start teasing her about Pence again. It snapped shut with a light 'click' and he gave her a smile instead.

"So what now?" she said with a light sigh.

"I'm kind of hungry."

"You're always hungry, Pence."

"I could go for some food as well, actually." Roxas murmured, shifting the bags in his hands, "I didn't exactly get to finish my lunch, and shopping always works up an appetite."

Hayner shrugged and then gestured to the entrance of the store again.

"To the food court!"

An hour later, they were all happily full and done eating, their trays emptied and discarded on top of the trash cans to be picked up by the staff. Roxas walked with them all, listening to them joke and talk, glad that Hayner was back in better spirits. He had thought he had seen Seifer prowling around the food court once or twice, but each time he had looked, he had been wrong. Something didn't sit right with him when it came to Seifer. Perhaps it was just him wanting to protect his friend, or perhaps he just didn't like Seifer period, he wasn't sure.

"Sound good to you, Rox?"

Again with the nickname! Roxas once again let it roll off his back and then looked over to them, finding all three of them looking at him expectantly.

"Uh…Sorry I guess I zoned out. What's up?"

Olette smiled and then lifted the bags in her hand a little.

"Pence and I will drop off the bags at my car and then we'll all pile into yours and go to the stadium and hang out for a while, sound good?"

Roxas paused for a second and then frowned a little, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Isn't it going to be dark out soon? I mean…the stadium closes once it's dark."

Hayner gave him a smirk as he handed his bags over to Olette so she could take them to the car.

"So we'll sneak in. No big deal, right?"

Roxas handed his own bags off to Pence and then shrugged.

"I guess. What if we get caught?"

Pence laughed and then let one of his hands lift up so he could hold the bags over his shoulder.

"No one ever patrols that place. We won't get caught. Besides, all they can do is tell us to leave. We won't be vandalizing anything."

Roxas was quiet for a moment more and then nodded.

"Alright. Might as well." It wasn't like they had much else they could do, and he definitely didn't want today to end. Pence and Olette were cool, and a blast to hang out with.

Hayner whooped lightly and then clapped his hand onto Roxas' back, making the other jerk forward a little.

"Then it's settled. We'll head out to the car and pick you two up at yours."

"Alright. I'm parked in the second row near the front. You'll see us."

With that, Pence and Olette headed off with each other, and Hayner turned toward the entrance they had parked near. He remained quiet for several seconds before he cleared his throat a little.

"Thanks…by the way."

Roxas raised an eyebrow and looked over, pulling his keys out of his pocket.

"For what?"

"Standing up to Seifer for me. Earlier…you said you would do the same for me…and you did. It means a lot."

Roxas gazed at him for a few seconds and then smiled.

"That's what friends do. We stick up for each other, and maybe even take a couple of black eyes for each other."

Hayner looked over and then grinned.

"Yeah. We do."

* * *

The sun had already dipped below the horizon, throwing shades of gold and red across the parking lot to the stadium, reflecting off of the windows of Roxas' car. It was the only one in the parking lot, which made him nervous, but Hayner and the others told him not to worry. Pence continued to insist that they wouldn't get caught.

So, they had hopped the fence and were now relaxing on the field, the Astroturf pressing to their backs and poking through their clothing. They had picked the spot right in the middle of the football field, on the fifty yard line. The lights were off, the sky fading to a dark blue, stars beginning to poke through.

Roxas closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out. This was nice. They got no studying done today, but he had enjoyed the time off. Pence and Olette were both cool, and he couldn't wait to hang out with them again. It was a shame that Olette would be moving away in the next couple of weeks, though.

"So, Pence…where do you go to school?"

Pence looked over from his spot on the other side of Olette and then smiled.

"I'm actually just going to go to the community college here. I couldn't afford tuition with you guys, so…I'll do the first two years at the community college and then move up to the university."

Roxas looked over, a bit surprised at the notion. He had not considered that before.

"I see. Yeah tuition is pretty steep. I got a full scholarship, so that's the only reason I'm here."

Hayner shot up from beside Roxas and stared at him like he was crazy.

"You got a free ride? You lucky bastard! I had to pull out loans and all that crap."

Roxas looked over to him and then shrugged.

"I just got lucky, I guess. I actually applied to a different college and didn't get squat. I wanted to go there, but this place offered me a scholarship when they heard I was considering somewhere else. Though I'm glad I came here…wouldn't have met you guys if I didn't."

Olette giggled a little and then nudged Roxas with her elbow.

"Aww you're sweet. We're glad we met you too, Roxas. You're really cool. It actually feels like I've known you for years."

"I was thinking the same thing! It's like the four of us were meant to be together."

Hayner gave Pence a wry smirk at that one and then tossed a pebble at the teen's forehead.

"Don't make it sound like that, man. We don't have some fourgy going, alright?"

"Besides, I think someone else would be interested in the 'together' aspect, Hayner and I not included."

Olette's eyes grew to the size of saucers and she reached over and slapped Roxas on the shoulder as he started laughing, Hayner doubling over at his side.

"Ugh! You two are impossible! I told you it's not like that!"

"Not like what? I don't get it."

"Nothing, Pence. Just ignore them."

"Ok…"

The laughter slowly died down and then they all lapsed into silence for a little while. It was comfortable, and it didn't feel like anything needed to be said. Roxas could have easily fallen asleep there if he didn't have something nagging at the back of his mind.

"Olette, you said you were glad that Hayner found someone like me here. Why?"

Hayner paused when he heard that and pushed himself up to look at Olette, who looked over to Hayner and gave him a light, reproachful scowl.

"Oh don't look so surprised, Hayner. I said that, Roxas, because…well…in middle and high school, Hayner didn't run with the best crowd. I mean, we were still his friends, but…his other friends tended to get him in trouble."

"It wasn't their fault…I mean…I could have said no."

Roxas looked over to him and then frowned a little.

"So what? Drugs or something?"

Hayner frowned and ran his hand through his hair before sighing and looking out over the field, one of his legs bending at the knee and his arm moving to rest on the bent surface.

"Yeah, drugs. I was in a gang…skipped school a lot, drank and smoked. I got in a lot of trouble. But that's not me. I realize it now. But yeah…I didn't exactly have the best time in middle and high school."

"Eventually we had a kind of intervention and he snapped out of it…"

Roxas looked from Pence to Hayner and then frowned.

"And…Seifer let you do this?"

Hayner smirked and then scoffed, lying back down.

"Seifer was the one who got me in to it. He's clean now too, but we did have one or two crazy nights high on something, drunk on something. Never could tell. But like I said, we're clean."

"We all go through an experimental phase…I heard that college was kind of when that hit for some people…and I was worried that Hayner would slip back into it. But…I know you would never let that happen, Roxas."

Roxas gazed at her for several seconds and then looked over to Hayner again.

"I…had no idea, really. I mean…you don't seem like the kind to do that kind of stuff." Seifer on the other hand… Hayner shrugged a little and looked away from them all.

"Yeah, well, Olette doesn't seem like the type to have crushes on-Ow! That hurt!"

Olette pulled her hand back from where she had 'frogged' Hayner on the leg and gave Roxas a sweet smile.

"Hayner has never been one to sit by sweetly and let something happen without getting face first into it. He likes to experience new things…and at the time…it had just been something new to experience. Not to mention his best friend was doing it and egging him on."

"I make my own damned choices. Stop talking about Seifer, alright? Besides, I'm sure Roxas has done some shit in his past. Right, Rox?"

Roxas paused when suddenly the conversation turned toward him like that and then ran his hand through his spiked hair.

"I…well I've done my share of skipping school and sneaking out at night and stuff. I've tried drinking and smoking…Smoking was lackluster. I just kind of shrugged it off. Drinking wasn't bad either until I puked all over everything. Haven't really touched either since."

Roxas shrugged just a little and Olette nodded.

"We all have our things. But yes, that was why I was glad that you and he are friends."

"New subject. So are you excited to move, Olette?" Hayner said in a pointed manner, though his tone was pleasant regardless. He lay back down and put his hands behind his head, brown eyes gazing up at the stars.

Roxas frowned ever so slightly and then lay down as well, his eyes turning to the stars as well. Olette launched into details of how she was excited and stressed out she was. Everything fell back into rhythm, and before they knew it, it was well past midnight. Small talk had made the time fly and Roxas found himself yawning.

Hayner pushed himself up and then stretched before offering Roxas his hand. Pence did the same and offered his to Olette along with a little smile.

"We should probably get back to the mall and get the car," he murmured, to which Olette agreed through a nod and yawn.

"Yeah, Hayner and I have an eight-a.m. class tomorrow morning. We switched into a calculus based physics class, and it's bright and early."

Hayner made a face and Olette and Pence gave them both sympathetic looks.

"Well let's head home, then. We'll get out of your hair quick enough."

"No rush. Let's head back to the car."

Hayner looped an arm around Roxas and headed back toward the entrance of the stadium, hopping the fence and then racing the blond back to the car. Once they were all piled inside, it was a quick ride back to the mall, and Pence and Olette said their goodbyes before getting into their car and heading out for the night.

Hayner was back to fiddling with buttons and the AC within minutes and Roxas was glad to get out of the car once they arrived back at the dorms.

"Aww, I don't want to go to my dorm. It's all the way across the building and yours is like right there…" he whined, to which Roxas smirked and sighed.

"Want to stay at my place? Can't say that I can share the bed with you, but it's closer than your room."

Hayner perked up and then grinned, stretching his arms above his head.

"I'll take the floor over walking across the building any day! Besides, you forcing me to get up will probably be the only way I'll get up for class tomorrow."

Roxas rolled his eyes and opened the door to the building, grinning at his friend as he came in after him.

"Alright fine. You better not snore or anything."

"I do no such thing!" Hayner said in mock-offence before he ran to the stairs and headed up them.

Roxas smiled as he watched him and then followed him up the stairs. In all…it had been a wonderful day. He'd made new friends and spent tons of time with them. Even though they'd not done their homework like he'd wanted, it was totally worth it.

* * *

The door to the dorm room was opened and a backpack was tossed inside, landing half over the large line of white tape that split the room in half. Axel sighed as he stepped inside. Hell of a day. One week in and he was already feeling like he was in over his head. He'd had a class up until about five minutes ago, and now it was dark out. He was starting to regret his decision of having taken a night class. Ah well, he knew for next time.

"Can you get your crap off of my side of the room?"

The voice from the bed made him smirk and he turned to find Riku sitting on his bed, knees drawn up in front of him and a text book propped open on them.

"Oh of course, wouldn't want your spotless side to get a little dirty, would we?"

"Just do it, prick."

Axel rolled his eyes and bent, lazily picking up his bag and tossing it to the pile of junk that was on his desk. They really were polar opposites. He wondered why they'd even paired them together as roommates last year. Riku's side of the room was clean. And not just tidy. It was spotless and everything had its place. It was almost freakish in Axel's opinion. After the first two days of Axel's stuff encroaching on 'his side' of the room a year ago, he'd bought some bright white masking tape and taped off everything, even the lamp. The tradition hadn't let up over the past couple of semesters.

Axel's side of the room, on the other hand, was a disaster zone. Clothing was tossed in random places, one over his lamp on his desk. Books, papers, movies, old boxes of pizza (empty by now) covered his desk. His bed was a haphazard pile of sheets and pillows, one corner of the fitted sheet popped off of it.

"It's nearly eleven. Isn't that your bedtime?" Axel said in a jeering voice, just to get Riku back for being a prick about the backpack.

Riku rolled his eyes and flipped the page of his book without much effort, aqua trained on the words, highlighter in hand.

"Don't you have some work to do?"

"Nope. No homework."

"And the physics homework we were assigned yesterday? You were going to do that when?" Aqua eyes drifted up to land on the green and Axel paused, his hand halfway into the mini fridge to pull out a bottle of 'water'.

"I'll get to it eventually?"

"You're not copying off of me."

"I wasn't going to."

"You say that every time."

Axel shot him a grin and then shrugged, sitting down on his bed and tipping the bottle back to get a sip of the vodka that he'd snuck in.

"You love me regardless."

"You have a strange definition of the word 'love' if that is the case." Riku murmured idly, highlighting something.

Yes, polar opposites. Axel was the fire, Riku was the ice. It had often been suggested that they would make an interesting couple, and rumors flew as to whether or not they were actually involved, mostly among their little circle of friends.

"So…" Axel said casually, kicking some of his pillows down to the foot of the bed and then sprawling out, "What was up with that kid at lunch today."

Most would have missed it, but Axel's trained eye easily caught the way Riku's jaw flexed and his hand gripped the highlighter a little tighter.

"He was a brat."

"He said you were staring at him."

Riku rolled his eyes and forced himself to relax a little, offering Axel an uncaring shrug.

"He was mistaken."

"You stared at him when he left."

"I was not staring at him, ok?"

"Did you think he was someone else? Or do you just think he's cute? He was pretty cute, all pouty with his glaring and stuff."

"Axel, I was not staring. Would you drop it already?"

Axel raised an eyebrow and then frowned, pushing himself up and moving over to him.

"Aww, c'mon, Riku. We've known each other for a while now. You can tell me when something is bothering you."

Riku tensed when Axel sat down on his bed and he glared ever so slightly, shifting away from the redhead and pulling his book a bit closer to his chest.

"What did I say about getting in bed with me?"

"You mean last night when you were begging for it?" Axel teased, shooting Riku a positively wicked grin before he rolled his eyes at the murderous glare he received, "Alright, alright. Fine."

He pushed himself back up and moved back a couple of steps.

"I'm serious, though. If you need to talk…I mean, it was pretty obvious, and now that I think about it, I would say you were staring as well. As a matter of fact…you've been pretty preoccupied at lunch for a week now."

"It's none of your business. Nothing is going on."

"Riku-"

"I said drop it, Axel."

The text book was shoved to the bed and the highlighter thrown down on top of it before Riku jerked himself out of bed. He went to his backpack and pulled something out of one of the pockets before heading to the door.

"Where are you going?" Axel said, moving aside to let the other through before he got hit with the door when Riku jerked it open.

"To go for a walk. Don't follow me."

The door slammed shut after that and Axel was left alone. He let out a long breath and then sighed. Someone was testy. Why was he being so dodgy about it, though? He definitely had been staring at the kid. Maybe he did have a crush on him and was just pissed off that the kid had blown up in his face about it?

Green eyes drifted down to the textbook on the bed and both eyebrows rose when he saw the corner of a piece of paper poking out from between one of the pages. He reached forward and gently tugged it out before looking around and bending back to look at the door. Well…the physics assignment. Riku had carelessly left it out here for Axel to find…time to copy.

Even copying it, he found, took a long time. He managed to get into bed around one-thirty, though he was intent on staying up until Riku came back to the room. It wasn't like him to storm out and stay outside for too long…or at all for that matter. It was unnerving to see him this way. Riku was normally calm and collected, good natured…not the cold bastard he was being lately.

Two in the morning rolled around and the door to the room was pushed open and shut again. Riku made his way inside, the light of his cellphone showing him the way to his bed. Axel had made sure to return the physics assignment exactly as he'd found it so Riku would be none the wiser. The footsteps paused next to Axel's bed and Axel kept his eyes closed and his breathing even, not wanting Riku to know he was awake.

"I'm sorry."

It was a bare whisper into the darkness of the room, Riku's voice no longer harsh and cold as it had been. It was sullen and weary.

"I know you're just trying to help me…but this goes far back beyond you and me."

The footsteps sounded again and clothing flumping into the hamper hit Axel's ears. Then the springs of Riku's bed squeaked and the text book was closed and set on the table beside the bed. A few moments later, the room was silent.

* * *

Morning came before Axel was ready for it, and it was only because Riku threw a pillow at him that he'd actually woken up. Physics. Horrible subject, but hey. He'd gotten his work "done".

Riku wouldn't say a damned word to him. He'd tried small talk, talk about the weather, talk about what he thought his parents were doing, how he figure the first physics test would go. Not a word. He wasn't sure if it was because Riku was angry with him or just didn't feel like talking. He went through both.

So, he'd decided to talk for the both of them. His hand was slipped into one of the back pockets of his black, tight jeans, a white t-shirt fluttering lightly in the breeze as he grasped the shoulder strap of his bag with the other hand.

"And Seifer said that he'd be at the party this weekend if we were interested. A new band is going to be playing there, and he said they seemed pretty good. So we should go and check it out. And I know, I know, before you bitch me out about it, you're not a party person. Dude, are you even listening to me?"

Axel glanced over to find that Riku's eyes were trained on a spot across the quad and he rolled his own eyes. Of course he wasn't. He wasn't talking to him and he wasn't listening to him. Riku was just being an ass today.

"What is so important that you can't even pay attention to me for five….seconds…" The green eyes had traced the path of the aqua and he found himself gazing at the very same blond kid that had called Riku out the day before. He was walking with the same guy that had been with him then as well.

Well…this was interesting. Even after he'd blatantly refuted that he was staring, here he was staring again. Axel looked away and then fought the urge to whistle. He'd just see how this played out. So they continued to walk, Axel gabbing on about the party that he'd been talking about, Riku's eyes trained on the blond across the grass.

_Thwang_.

Axel burst out laughing when Riku back-peddled and his hand slapped up to his head in complete surprise, aqua staring at the light post he'd just run into with complete shock.

"W-what the hell? When did that get there?"

"While you were staring at that blond kid!" Axel said before he crossed his arms and gave Riku a frown, "So you were saying that you weren't staring yesterday? You're making a stellar case to support that claim so far today."

Riku growled lightly and rubbed at the bump that was forming just beneath his bangs, wincing as he felt he pain shock through him.

"Just shut up, Axel." The pale cheeks were colored with a dark red flush as he moved around the light pole and began a quicker walk toward the science research building, his eyes pointedly on his destination now. Axel rolled his eyes and followed after him. Not staring. Bullshit.

Within a few minutes they were in the building and sitting down in class, their normal seats free and vacant since they got there so early. Axel had done nothing to 'just shut up' and had returned to bothering Riku about his staring, to which Riku simply waved him off.

"When that asshole's around, I can't concentrate. That's all."

The doors behind them opened and people began to file in.

"You sure this is the right room? There's like no one here."

"Chill, Hayner, the schedule says this is right."

"If you're wrong and we miss class, you're buying me ice cream at the cafeteria."

"It's free, genius."

"Oh…ok then you're buying me a candy bar at the cafeteria."

Out of the corner of his eyes, Axel saw the noisy pair come down the stairs and then he felt the air crackle and tense next to him. Riku's hands clenched on the notebook and pencil he'd been pulling out of his back pack and his eyes snapped to the two as they came up to the professor. A breathy curse left Riku's lips.

"Hi, sorry that we're a bit late to the class, but we had to switch up to a calculus based course. Advising didn't tell us until last minute."

It was that kid! Again! Axel's eyes slid to the side and he smirked when he saw Riku frozen in place, notebook hovering over the desk.

"Yo. He's not medusa. Move, you idiot."

Riku jerked a little at that and then glared at him, though he offered nothing else in response. After a few more words with the professor, the blond and his friend turned around, trying to scout out a place to sit…until the blond's eyes landed on the pair in the middle. Red and silver hair.

Roxas stopped dead. It was that asshole! Those aqua eyes were trained on him again!

"Son of a bitch," he whispered, to which Hayner frowned and looked over.

"What?"

Then he saw them.

"Ah…well…we'll just sit on the other side of the room. No big deal." With that, he pulled his friend off to the other side of the room and found a pair of seats. Axel sighed as the room remained tense and Riku refused to relax next to him.

"Why did he have to be in this class? Out of all of the calculus based physics courses, he chose this one?"

"It's not like he could have known you were in here. Just relax."

Riku glared at him and then slumped down in his chair a little as the professor called their attention. Lecture began and Axel went about doing his best to keep up and take notes.

By the end of the hour, he glanced over and saw Riku's notebook blank.

* * *

Hayner groaned when the lights turned back on and the professor dismissed them all.

"Man that was crap. How are we going to make it through this class?"

He looked down to his friend and then frowned.

"You didn't take notes?"

Roxas paused and then looked up from the doodle he was making on the side of his notebook.

"Notes?" he repeated before he looked down at his page and then cursed, "Ah dammit…mind if I get yours? Sorry. I was distracted."

Hayner raised an eyebrow and then glanced across the room where the redhead and Riku were standing up. Roxas caught the gaze and then frowned, snapping his fingers a little to get Hayner's eyes back where they needed to be; not on that pair.

"It's nothing. Just didn't sleep well last night…no thanks to Mr. I-don't-snore. That was such a lie."

Hayner smirked and packed up his things regardless.

"I don't know what I do when I sleep. You can't blame me for it."

Roxas rolled his eyes and then packed up his things, swinging his bag over his shoulder. One quick glance told him that the pair was gone and his shoulders slumped a little. Physics was going to suck.

* * *

**And that is that. I apologize for this chapter, as it's mostly filler and it feels like it jumped around a lot to me. Also, the quality of writing kind of died. Like I said, my stupid dissertation is killing me. I'll probably go back and fix it/try to improve on later chapters as I go. Again, keep in mind that I'm crazy freakin busy, so I'll do my best to get these out when the creativity hits me. **

**Thanks to everyone who viewed/reviewed/followed/alerted. I appreciate it.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters.**

**I do not own the story's cover image, either. Props for that go to the amazingly talented Rubyd. You can find the image along with some of her other works at .com**

**Thanks to everyone who viewed and reviewed the previous few chapters. I appreciate it, and your input keeps me going.**

**Rating: M for future chapters, to be sure.**

* * *

Chapter 3

* * *

_Clean your side of the room. It's distracting, and I need to study for the biology exam that's next week. I'm sure you're aware of it. It's the one you haven't started to even prep for, right?_

Axel scowled. Nag, nag, nag. That was all it had been for the past two weeks; Riku demanding this and that from him. Clean your room. Don't eat food on your bed. Play your music elsewhere. Shouldn't you be studying? Be quiet; it's eleven-thirty and I'm going to bed. Green eyes rolled as he picked up a pile of clothing from his bed and dumped it into the hamper that Riku had oh-so-graciously let him borrow so he could clean.

Well he'd show him. Riku would come back and this place would be so damned spotless that Riku would be at a loss for words _and_ owe Axel a case of beer. Riku wasn't entirely aware of that little wager yet, but he would find out soon enough. Riku was at the gym working out for a couple of hours before their first class, and Axel was determined to get everything picked up before he got home. Already, an hour and a half had gone by. Riku had been anything but quiet when he'd left, so Axel had no choice but to get up and do something. Going back to sleep wasn't going to happen. Once he was up, he was up.

The now full hamper was lugged to the door to sit next to the other hamper of dirty clothing, patiently waiting to be emptied and its contents washed. There. Floor and bed were cleaned.

Riku could suck it.

He quickly jerked the sheets up to the head of the bed, straightening them out before he placed his pillow over the top of them. Bed made. With that, he made his way to the desk and frowned at the pile of papers, books and pizza boxes that had accumulated there. Pizza boxes were easy enough. Without looking, they were tossed into the trash can behind him. He'd stolen a large one from out in the hall for while he cleaned, not wanting to lug trash back and forth.

Books and papers…hmmm. He picked up a couple of books in one hand and then a few papers in the other, frowning at each equally. Ah well. He straightened out the papers, opened up the books and then shoved the papers inside. Lather, rinse, repeat and he was good to go! Desk was now clean. He picked up the trash can and then hefted it outside, dropping it down into its place next to the stair well. He still had fifteen minutes to spare…might as well get the laundry going. A quick wipe of his arm over his brow saw the sweat taken away, and he made his way back to his room. One of the hampers was lifted up and hauled out past the door before he went to his desk and fished around in one of the drawers for some quarters. After locating them, it was off to the laundry room.

Laundry would take a while, but he figured that he could just come back and get it after class this morning. The hamper was left in the laundry room, now empty due to him shoving every last article of clothing into the machine, effectively overfilling it. He would bring the other when another machine opened up.

Another quick look at his watch told him that he had five minutes until Riku got back. His stomach growled loudly and he sighed. The only thing they had in the mini fridge was some baking soda and a beer. Well…beer was liquid bread right? Bread was a breakfast food. He didn't bother closing the door to their room behind him, letting it swing open to show off their now spotless room. There was no difference to be told between the sides, save for colors. His side was now almost compulsively clean like Riku's. The mini fridge was popped open and he pulled out his last beer, opening it and taking a swig.

"Ugh. Poor choice, but I'm not going to the cafeteria to get something else," he muttered to himself. He turned to lean back against his desk and looked over Riku's side of the room.

Meticulous. Everything had a place, and everything had to be in its place. Riku's bed was made to an almost military style precision, his pillow placed against the wall so that it made an almost perfect forty-five degree angle with the mattress. His desk was spotless, his shiny black laptop sitting on top of the black laminate surface. A single picture rested in the corner.

Huh.

"Never saw that before…"

Axel pushed off of his desk and made his way over to the desk, beer in one hand as he picked up the picture with the other. It was definitely older…and that was definitely Riku, but he was with two other people; A red-headed girl with a sweet smile and deep blue eyes, and a brunette boy with gravity-defying spikey hair, sparkling blue eyes and a cheerful grin from ear to ear. Axel's eyes moved over the two for a second before they lifted to Riku. He was smiling. It was a true, genuine smile. He'd never seen Riku smile like that before.

He seemed to have more color. His cheeks were flushed a little as though he had been running and jumping, the bright yellow shirt and dark blue pants he wore making the light color of his skin and short silver hair stand out.

He seemed happy.

Riku had the ability to be happy? Since when? He'd only known him as a nagging, overbearing asshole with an occasional soft side.

His eyes took the scene in for a few more moments, his hand lifting the beer to his lips and then he paused. The brunette…looked kind of…like…

"You cleaned."

Axel jumped and the picture was slammed back down, his breath catching and the liquid in his mouth sliding down the wrong pipe in his throat. He was sent into a coughing fit as he whirled around to look at his roommate.

Riku raised an eyebrow at the reaction and then frowned, setting his gym bag down by his bed. He was damp, having come from the showers directly to here. He wore a simple t-shirt and a pair of jeans for now. Axel was sure that Riku would change before they went to class. Riku eyed the drink in Axel's hand as he made his way over.

"I can't say beer is the best choice in breakfast, but at least you're consuming something. Thanks for cleaning up."

Axel lifted a shoulder in a sort of shrug and then took another drink.

"I was tired of you bitchin at me to do it."

"I had a feeling that I would get through some day. What were you looking at?" Riku said as he reached over and grabbed the picture Axel had been handling. He pulled it over to him, holding it close, almost protectively as aqua eyes snapped up to the green.

"I know you said not to touch your shit, but…I mean…You don't have anything personal out. This was it…so. I looked."

Riku watched him for several seconds and then looked down at the picture again. His expression softened a little.

"Who are they?"

The plunking sound of liquid moving through the beer bottle made him look up to Axel, who was watching Riku with genuine curiosity.

"They're my best friends from my childhood. The red-head is Kairi…and…the boy…is Sora."

Axel frowned a little at the way Riku's voice turned a little longing and wistful when he said that, the pale fingers moving over the beaming face of the brunette in the picture.

"Kairi actually goes to school here, but she's in the nursing program, so she hardly has any time. I see her every once in a while on campus, but we only get to chat for a few moments and then we have to part ways."

Axel nodded, watching Riku's fingers continue to slide over the glass above Sora's face. He took another drink of the beer and tilted his head, gesturing his drink toward the picture again when he lowered it from his lips.

"And Sora? What? Did he move away or something?"

Riku's fingers paused over the picture and he let out a soft breath.

"He died."

His voice was a whisper, barely audible to the point where Axel thought he hadn't heard it. Died? Sora had died?

"I…I'm sorry." That was not at all what he'd been expecting. No wonder Riku looked like he was about to cry as he gazed at Sora in the picture.

"It was a car crash a couple of years ago. Really, it couldn't be avoided. He was coming back from a skiing trip with his family…He had his learner's permit at the time, so his mother was letting him drive home. They were heading down a two lane road and some idiot went to pass a semi…and Sora had been just upon the semi going the other way. The guy hit him going seventy…Sora was doing about the same. Head on collision…Sora died instantly. His mother and father were hurt, but not badly…some broken bones and stuff…but Sora'd gotten hit head on." Riku's eyes never lifted from the image in front of him, "That…was the day my life ended. Or…it felt like it, at least. I loved him…with everything I had."

Axel stared at him with complete shock.

"Riku…man…I had no idea…"

Riku shook his head and put the photo down before looking up at Axel.

"You couldn't have. I've never told anyone before."

Aqua rested on the green just long enough for Riku to get the point across. Then he looked away and moved to change out of his shirt and jeans.

Axel gazed at him. Riku…trusted him like that? He cleared his throat and took another drink of his beer, needing something, anything to break the tension that had settled in around them. He glanced away from Riku when he noticed that he was changing, looking back to the photo, gazing at the cheerful face that smiled up at him. Dead. Someone that light and happy…dead. Taken right off of this world…instantly.

He was quiet for quite some time as Riku got changed, finishing off his beer in the stretch. Riku looked over once he'd gotten changed. They still had a half hour until class.

"Hey…you know…" Axel began, gazing at the image for a little while longer, "Sora…He kind of looks like that kid that's in physics…you know, the one who got up in your face."

The tension skyrocketed in a matter of a nanosecond, and he looked over to find Riku glaring at him in a mixture of anger and despair. Without a word, he turned and left, grabbing a pack of cigarettes and lighter before heading out of the room. The door closed behind him.

Axel sighed. Drama queen. Riku always just ran out when things got too hard to handle. He tossed the beer bottle to the little trash can in their room and then moved to sit down on his bed and wait. Riku would have to come back before long. His school stuff was still here and there was no way the guy was missing class.

He found his eyes on the picture again. Sora really did look like Roxas. Just change the hair, really and they could have been twins. Maybe… Axel's eyes widened and suddenly, everything clicked.

That was why Riku had been staring. Roxas looked exactly like Sora…so Riku…had been what? Freaked out? Seeing someone you thought was dead would be a good enough excuse to be freaked out, right? He must have been staring to try to see if it was Sora, gauging his mannerisms and gestures, trying to match them to his best friend.

That explained why he'd seemed so depressed when Roxas had finally called him out on it. Riku had realized that it wasn't his best friend. His hope that Sora was somehow alive had been shot to pieces all over again.

He ran his hand through his hair and let out a light breath. Well…that explained why Riku didn't want to talk about it, as well. Now he felt like a jerk for pushing it…not that he could have known why Riku was doing it or anything.

Fifteen minutes passed like a second, and Riku entered the room once more, smelling like smoke. But at least he appeared to be calmer. Axel looked over to him and then away again. He wasn't going to say a thing. Not this time. He'd let Riku say something when he was ready.

"Ready for class? You _did_ do the physics homework, right?" Riku said, not bothering to look at Axel as he grabbed his bag off of the back of the chair on his desk. He picked up the photo and delicately returned it to its rightful place. Axel watched him quietly, feeling a sudden spark of pain for his friend.

"Sure. I did it." If you wanted to call copying Riku's 'doing it'. Axel pushed himself up and moved to grab his own bag. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Can we get some actual food after this, though?"

Riku took a few more seconds and then turned to face him with a smirk.

"The beer isn't holding you over? Not much of a surprise."

Riku moved to the door, Axel following after him. They both remained quiet after that. Axel, because he was afraid of what he might say regarding Sora and Roxas, and Riku because he was glad that, for once, Axel had absolutely nothing to talk about.

* * *

Roxas found, over the past two weeks, that he both loved and despised physics. He loved it because the problems were challenging and the feeling of gratitude for finishing them was beyond rewarding. He hated it because…well…

Blue eyes shot to the opposite side of the classroom from him, glaring at the silver haired and red-headed boys that sat over there. A new one had joined them. He didn't need to look twice to see who it was. Seifer. He was sitting next to Riku, and Axel sat on Riku's other side, right next to the aisle. One, two, three. Right in a row. Bastards. All three of them.

Hayner hadn't failed to notice the addition either. Apparently Seifer had always been signed up for this course, but hadn't been showing up due to work. Now that his schedule had been shifted, he was now in class regularly. The professor had granted him some time to catch up. How he'd fallen in with the creep and fire face was beyond him.

"Is this seat taken?"

Roxas looked up when he was spoken to and then paused. The first thing that caught his attention was the blue hair. Blue hair? Seriously! Who had blue hair?! The second thing that grabbed his attention was the jagged, X-shaped scar that cut between the man's golden eyes over the bridge of his nose. He wore a simple white t-shirt and a pair of light blue jeans. He didn't look like he was happy…hell, he didn't look like he was sad either. He looked…apathetic to be here.

Roxas looked to the empty seat next to him on the aisle. He'd saved that for Hayner, but Hayner hadn't taken the hint and had ended up sitting on Roxas' other side.

"No. Have at it."

The man nodded a little and then sat down, opening up his text book and notebook on the small desk that was provided for them on the chair. Roxas glanced at him again and then offered him a smile.

"I'm Roxas…and this is Hayner, my best friend. It's nice to meet you."

The scarred man looked over to the pair, Hayner having glanced over from his glaring fest at his ex-boyfriend.

"Saïx. Charmed."

He sounded far from charmed. Roxas' smile faltered a little and then he cleared his throat.

"Well…nice to meet you, Saïx."

The golden eyes looked away from Roxas and focused on the homework that was due today. It was written in a methodical, almost typed script, but he could tell it was hand written. He forced himself to look away and then looked at his own homework. His looked nothing like that. His was a mess of scrawled out equations and a jumble of steps, ending with a boxed number that was his answer.

Hayner rolled his eyes and looked over to the three across the room from them again.

"The hell makes him think that he can just waltz in here and sit down and be here?"

Roxas winced a little and then patted Hayner's hand.

"Just try to ignore him."

From the looks of it, Seifer was doing his best to ignore Hayner as well.

"Alright, everyone. Pass your homework questions toward the middle of the room and then forward and I will collect them."

There was a rustling of paper as everyone in the class worked to do as they were instructed, and within a few minutes, all of the homework had been collected and put inside of the professor's briefcase.

"As always, you may pick up your assignments in a week. They will be outside my office door in the box labeled with your class section. Now! We're going to do something different today. I want you to look across the room to the seat directly opposite of you. For example, if you are the first seat in row one, then you will look at the same seat of the row one across from you. This will be your partner for today's exercises."

Roxas frowned and then looked across the room to the same seat as he was sitting in if he would be on the other side of the room. Then he froze. Aqua eyes gazed back at him in a far from pleased manner, though it was difficult to not see the shock.

Hayner immediately tensed in his seat when he realized who his partner was. Seifer's curse was loud and clear from across the room.

"Switch seats with me." Hayner hissed at Roxas as he moved to grab his stuff.

"Now, now, settle down everyone. This is an ice breaker exercise. You will find that, through your college careers, while it is important to be able to work by yourself, it is invaluable to have a group of friends, or at least one close one with whom you can work. I hope that this exercise will bring you closer to someone in this class, so that you may study with them. I will pass out a problem to each group, and you should turn it in before the end of class. No switching partners!"

There was a pause from everyone in the room before some stood up and made their way over to their partners. Roxas crossed his arms and looked away from Riku. Like hell was he going to get up and go right over to that creep! He wanted nothing to do with him!

Saïx was one of those who got up and made their way over to their partner. Axel paused when he saw the other come up to him and then raised an eyebrow. His partner, huh?

Riku rolled his eyes when Roxas looked away from him so pointedly and then pushed himself up, reluctantly making his way across the room toward the blond. His eyes glanced up to the ceiling as he gave a frown. _You're still punishing me for stealing that carton of cigarettes in high school, aren't you? _This was stupid. Just do the problem and get out. They didn't need to talk to each other or anything. So he sat down in Saïx's old seat, pulling out a pen and his calculator, ignoring Roxas' glare the whole time.

Seifer remained exactly where he was, his arms crossed and his feet kicked up onto the seat in front of him. Everyone else had moved to their partners, but there was no way in hell he was going to budge an inch toward french fry hair over there. No way in hell!

Hayner's own posture suggested the very same thing, and the professor was left looking between the two of them with a slight frown.

"I will not pass out the assignment until everyone has moved and gotten together with their partner." The professor gave a little look toward Hayner, who cursed loudly and pushed himself up. Within a few seconds, he slumped down in the chair next to Seifer.

"Happy?" he snarled to the man at the front.

The professor smiled a little and then began to pass out the assignment.

Axel took the piece of paper when it was handed to him and then put it down on the desk that was between him and the man that was apparently his partner.

"You got a name? I'm pretty sure we have to put both of ours on this."

"Saïx."

"Saïx, huh? Name's Axel. Get it memorized."

Saïx raised an eyebrow and looked up at the red head for several seconds.

"If I find it worth memorizing, I will do so."

Axel's eyebrows shot up to his hairline when Saïx said that and then gave a whistle. This one had a little spine to him. He liked that.

"Fair enough. Alright. Let's get started on this." This guy looked like he was pretty damned smart, so he'd probably lucked out. He'd just let Saïx do the problem and then head out of here to get some breakfast.

Saïx did as Axel thought he would, reaching over to take the problem onto his own desk and glance over it. Within minutes, he had written out a detailed plan for how the experiment would be conducted. Axel grinned and relaxed back, kicking his feet up on the desk in front of him.

"Looks like you have this covered. I'm just gonna…you know. Relax."

Saïx shrugged and then got to the actual math and chemical equations section of the problem. Five minutes passed and when Axel opened his eyes again, not a single thing had been written on the paper.

"What gives? You were on fire a second ago, man."

"I don't believe we have gone over this material in class."

The cold response made Axel frown, and he leaned over, his chin nearly on the man's shoulder to take a look. He ignored the way Saïx tensed and leaned away from him. Green eyes scanned the words on the paper and then he scoffed a little.

"It's just conservation of mass and momentum stuff…come on. We went over that briefly last class, and he told us to read over it for homework."

Saïx's golden eyes regarded Axel in a blank look, the corners of his lips tipping down ever so slightly in displeasure.

"I'm not good with it."

Axel's mouth dropped open. What? Aww man, so he had to actually do work now? He heaved a sigh and grabbed the paper, putting it down on his desk and then picking up his pencil.

"Alright, this is how it works. Get it memorized."

With that, he began to go through the reactions, Saïx leaning over with mild interest and watching what the red head did with the information.

* * *

The piece of paper was handed over to Hayner, who slapped it down on Seifer's desk and then sent the boy next to him a murderous glare.

"You planned this, didn't you?"

Seifer's blue eyes narrowed at the brown and he crossed his arms, showing clearly that he was not about to even start on the problem.

"Right, chicken wuss, I made sure to sit in this seat right here so that we could be paired up because I somehow knew that the professor had this in mind today." Seifer snarled sardonically, causing Hayner to bristle and shift.

"Asshole."

"Prick."

"Good for nothing-"

"Mama's boy-"

"Asshat-"

"Son of a bitch-"

The girl in front of them turned around and glared, her face a bit red from all of the insults she was hearing.

"If neither of you are going to work, why stay here?"

Hayner opened his mouth to say something and then paused. Why didn't he just leave? That had completely been an option in all of the hustle and bustle. He glanced over to Seifer and saw that the beanied blond had just come to the same conclusion.

"I don't believe our conversation had a 'please join right in' sign on it, did it? Turn around and mind your own damned business."

The girl huffed and did as she was told, but Seifer picked up a pencil and wrote out both of their names on the page before shoving it over to Hayner's desk.

"Have at it, wuss. I'm not doing any of it."

"Then I'll just erase your name."

Hayner flipped his pencil around and began to do just that, only to have Seifer reach over and grab his hand. Hayner jerked his own back like he'd been burned and then glared at the boy, who had jerked back in a similar fashion.

"Fine, whatever. Just hurry up and do your damned half so I can do my stupid half and we can go."

"Gladly, you immature dick."

"Don't call me immature, you giant baby!"

And they were back to glaring, the pencil left forgotten next to the problem on the desk.

* * *

No way in hell was he going to do this with Riku. No. No no no no no. Roxas hadn't stopped glaring the entire time the professor had passed out the problems, and now it was their turn. Riku accepted the paper with a murmur of thanks and then quickly wrote out his name on the paper.

"What's your name?"

The quiet voice surprised Roxas, having expected something a little more gruff and unhappy with the situation. Of course, it didn't sound like Riku was thrilled to be there either.

"Roxas."

The name was written down under Riku's and then the older teen began to work through the problem without another word. Just get it done and get it over with. Roxas frowned when the other started to work and then let out a frustrated breath.

"If you're not going to let me help, can I at least see what you're doing?" he snapped. Riku's hand paused with the pencil in the middle of the step he was writing out and then he gave a sigh of irritation.

"Fine."

He shifted so that Roxas could see the paper and then got back to work, effectively ignoring his presence for the rest of the time. It was distracting. Beyond distracting. He could hear every breath, every movement. He could see the blue eyes…the same blue eyes as Sora's. What he would have given to have discovered it was his best friend.

He wasn't stupid. He knew Sora had died. He had been to the funeral, seen his friend in the casket at the memorial, watched it lowered into the ground and then covered. Sora wasn't coming back. He knew that. But…

Aqua eyes lifted for a second to gaze at the blond next to him, a pang of longing shooting through him.

What he would have given…

Blue eyes snapped up to meet the aqua and then Riku jerked his own back down.

"What?"

Riku frowned when he heard the tone of the other's voice.

"Just making sure you were paying attention."

"I don't need you to make sure."

"Fine."

Roxas felt a growl rise in his throat when he heard the response. Fine. He didn't know why, but it irritated him beyond belief. Still, he turned his attention back down to the paper, watching Riku's work and finding very quickly that he had no idea what he was doing.

He understood the processes and the setup of the experiment, but what the hell was Riku doing now? He leaned in a little closer and frowned gently. Delta t was what? Wait, what was delta p? Where did all of these deltas come from?

He opened his mouth to ask and then felt himself pause. No…if he asked…Riku would think he was an idiot. Not that he really cared what Riku thought, but if Riku was obviously so comfortable with doing this problem, then he should be too!

His eyes focused on the paper again and he found that Riku was almost done. His cheeks began to burn a little. Riku raced through that thing like it was nothing, and he didn't even know what delta p stood for. The pencil stopped on the paper and Riku looked up to Roxas.

"Something wrong?"

Roxas felt his cheeks grow warmer and he frowned.

"No, nothing's wrong. Just finish the problem already. I want to get out of here."

"Do you understand it? What I'm writing down, I mean."

A scoff left the blonde's lips and he waved his hand a little.

"Of course I understand it."

Riku paused, gazing at him for several seconds before he smirked a little and then turned back to the paper.

"If you say so."

Roxas ground his teeth together. What? Riku was mocking him now? He crossed his arms and sat back in his chair, pointedly not looking at the other and frowning to himself. Aqua drifted over once more, the smirk not leaving. Sora had been stubborn too…

A few minutes later, the problem was finished and Riku was boxing the answer at the end of a lengthy calculation. He picked it up and put it on Roxas' desk before he gathered his things and stood.

"You can check my work for any errors. There shouldn't be any, but better safe than sorry."

He was gone right after that. Roxas glared after him and then sighed, sitting back in his chair and looking over the work. How could he even check to make sure there were errors if he had no idea what he was doing in the first place? He gazed at the deltas, t's, p's, m's, u's and v's, completely unsure of what any of them stood for and then gave up, pushing himself up and gathering his stuff. They were the first ones to turn their paper in, and after a quick look through it, the professor gave him a beaming smile.

"Very nicely done, Roxas. Be sure that you tell your partner that you both did the problem correctly. I believe I saw him leave earlier."

Roxas felt a flush run over his cheeks again and then he nodded, running his hand through his hair and looking away in an almost guilty manner.

"Yes, sir. I will."

With that, he headed up the stairs and paused when he got over to Hayner and Seifer.

"Hayner. I'll be outside."

He glanced at the pair's paper and saw that all had been written was their names. Hayner jerked himself up and then moved to get his stuff, pulling the strap of the bag over his shoulder.

"I'll just come with you. I'm not going to sit here and continue to listen to this asshole."

"Yeah, you better run, chicken wuss. I'll kick your ass from here to the history building and back."

"Put up or shut up, Seifer."

With that, Hayner was stomping up the stairs, Roxas quick in tow. Seifer only hung around for a few seconds more and then knocked Axel on the shoulder as he got up and moved to the aisle.

"I'll be waiting outside, fire crotch."

Axel sighed and then nodded.

"We're almost done. Be out in about five minutes."

Seifer made his way to the door, pausing when he saw that Riku had stayed behind and was staring after the blond kid as he left down the hall.

"You got the hots for the blond kid or something?"

Riku jumped and snapped his eyes away from Roxas and Hayner as they departed, looking over to Seifer and frowning a little.

"No. Not remotely. His name is Roxas, by the way."

Seifer rolled his eyes.

"I don't care what his name is. He's hanging out with french fry hair. Why should I care about him?"

"Fair enough. Where's Axel?"

"Still talking to that blue haired guy. He said he'd be out in five minutes or so."

Riku sighed and moved to sit down on the bench that was behind him, running his hand through his hair, taking one last glance down the hall to see that Roxas and Hayner had already rounded the corner. He looked back to Seifer.

"That was a disaster."

Seifer snorted and sat down next to him, kicking his legs out a little and slouching back against the wall.

"Tell me about it. At least you weren't paired up an idiot like french fry face."

"I saw that…I'm guessing he was far from pleasant."

"Keh."

Seifer was quiet for several minutes and then Axel came out of the room with a frown.

"I had to do it all. All of the work. All of it."

Riku smirked when the red head said that and then pushed himself up, Seifer following suit.

"Poor Axel. He had to put in effort toward something. I know that must have been difficult for you."

Axel rolled his eyes at Riku and then ran his hand through his hair.

"Breakfast had better be the next thing on the list. After that problem, I could use a cinnamon roll or five."

Seifer scoffed and then pushed his hands down into his pockets, looking away from both of them.

"At least you finished the problem. We didn't even start it."

Axel grinned and then moved closer to the other, nudging him in the shoulder.

"Ah! Distracted were we? Couldn't take your eyes away from those big brown ones, hmm? Imagining how they would look begging you for more, yeah?"

Riku laughed and then let his arm slip around Seifer's shoulders, not one to pass up on teasing his shorter friend.

"I bet that it was his pouting lips. He could imagine how they tasted. He just couldn't look away. All he could do was think of how they would look when they said his name."

Seifer growled and then shoved both of the taller boys away from him, glaring absolute murder at them.

"I will fucking kill you both if you say anything like that ever again, hear me? He's a good for nothing punk and it's a wonder how he even got into college in the first place."

Axel and Riku both moved back to the other's side, though they kept their hands to themselves, laughing and smirking respectively.

"You know we're teasing you, Seifer."

"Sounds like you've known him a while…"

Seifer tensed when Riku made the connection and then looked away from them both.

"He's my ex."

Axel paused and then looked up at Riku with surprise before glancing back down to Seifer.

"Your ex? You dated that kid?"

"In high school, yeah."

"He broke it off with you, or what?"

Seifer rolled his eyes and then looked at both of them.

"I broke up with him, ok? It wasn't even my fucking choice. My father told me that he would not have a gay son, and told me to break it off with Hayner or he would cut me off. I can't get a job or anything just myself, and part of his support was a college degree. Hayner took it badly…I never told him what the real reason was. I just told him that there were experiences in college that I didn't want to pass up…and if I was with him, it would be impossible to do what I wanted."

Riku stared at Seifer for a second and then frowned.

"Well no wonder he hates you...It's not like you like him anymore, right?" Not with the way Seifer had been acting around Hayner. He'd not been blind to how the two had just glared at each other all through class.

Seifer paused and then waved it off, rolling his eyes.

"No, of course I don't like him. He's an idiot."

The pause had been too long. Seifer could see the realization in both Riku and Axel's eyes.

"If you still like him, all you have to do is tell him the real reason. I would imagine he's just hurt." Axel said, watching Seifer with a frown.

"It's not that simple. It's gone on too long."

"It's been what? A semester?"

"It's been a summer…and a few months."

"The wounds are still fresh, but I'm sure Hayner would understand if you just talked to him." Riku murmured, shifting his bag over his shoulder and then looking up to the dining hall when they reached it.

"It's just easier for him to hate me."

The finality of the statement had both Riku and Axel struggling for something to say. Seifer pushed past them both and moved into the dining hall, swiping his card and then moving inside to start loading up a few plates with some breakfast.

Riku was quiet for a few moments before he cleared his throat and then swiped his own card, moving into the cafeteria to get his own breakfast. Axel followed them and within ten minutes, they were all seated at their normal table and starting in. Axel's plate was cinnamon rolls and some fruit.

Riku made a face at the pure sugar that sat on Axel's plate and then happily went about eating his own omelet. He couldn't eat sugar like that in the morning. Of course, Axel apparently could just drink a whole beer in the morning and be fine too. Whatever.

"So you had to work with the Ice Prince, huh?" Seifer said after a good stretch of silence moved between them, looking up at Axel.

Axel laughed and shrugged a little.

"Ice prince is about right. He didn't quite get the whole conservation of mass and momentum thing, so I ended up having to do all of the work."

"You mean _you_ understood the conservation of mass and momentum part?" Riku said with a smirk before he took a drink of his water and went back to his omelet. Axel gave him a sarcastic little laugh.

"I told you that I did my homework, asshole. Either way, he had the steps for the experiment down…he just didn't know where to go from there."

"He's all about methods, but he doesn't really like the math behind it." Seifer murmured, prompting Axel to raise an eyebrow.

"You know him?"

"Yeah. I mean, I've seen him around campus and I have world lit with him. He's acing that class like no one's business. Curve breaker. Only spoken to him once or twice."

"I see." Axel murmured before offering them both a shrug, "He was just a little on the quiet side, but he might be good to study with."

Riku smirked and then nudged Axel.

"Right. 'Study with'," he murmured, lifting his hands to make the quotations with his fork still in one. Axel grinned and then laughed before shoving Riku away from him.

"Oh please! You want to talk about 'studying with' someone, how about that blond kid that you were partnered with? You can't keep your eyes off of him."

"His name is Roxas, and I do not want anything to do with him." Riku said.

"That kid is a hard headed idiot." Seifer murmured before continuing when both Riku and Axel shot him confused looks, "I ran into Hayner and his friends at the arcade in the mall a few weeks ago, and Roxas was with them. I was bugging Hayner a little and Roxas got up in my face and was all 'you got a problem' and 'you're talking to me now. I'll kick your ass'… What the hell are you smiling about?"

Riku jumped a little when Seifer said that and then realized he was indeed smiling. Just…Sora would stand up for his friends too, no matter how long he'd known them…or who the bully was. He quickly wiped the smile off of his lips and then shrugged.

"You're seeing things."

"Bullshit, Riku. That was a smile." Seifer said, frowning at him. Axel grinned and then pointed his fork at Riku in an accusing manner.

"I bet you like him. You should ask him out."

Riku's mouth dropped open at the suggestion and he quickly waved his hand as though he were pushing the very notion away.

"I don't want anything to do with him. He's an immature prick who doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. I don't feel anything more toward him than aversion." Riku said easily, poking his fork into the cup of mixed fruit he'd gotten, coming out with a grape.

"Uh-huh. Sure. Whatever you say, Riku." Axel said with a growing grin. Seifer frowned and then looked to Axel with confusion, catching the green eyes. A knowing look exchanged between them and then Seifer grinned as well.

Riku was such a bad liar.

* * *

Hayner's sour mood continued all the way back to Roxas' dorm room and well into the movie they had decided they were going to watch. Roxas had decided it was best to just forego conversation for the moment, giving Hayner some time to steep and eventually have his temper level off. The shoulders of his best friend slumped and Hayner let out a small sigh.

"He was a dick to you, huh?" Roxas said, turning the movie down a little so they could talk. Hayner rolled his eyes at him and dug his hand into the popcorn bowl, pulling out a hand full and dropping a few of the popped kernels onto Roxas' bed spread.

"When is he not a dick?" Hayner grumbled, shoving the fist-full of popcorn into his mouth and chewing away at it.

Roxas ran his hand through his hair and then looked from the movie over to his friend.

"I can go back there and kick his ass. Not joking. I'll totally do it."

Hayner raised an eyebrow and then looked over at Roxas, the hint of a disbelieving smirk on his lips.

"He left with Riku and that red-headed guy. You really want to fuck with all three of them at once?"

Roxas sat up a little more and his face grew determined as he set the bowl of popcorn aside.

"Hell yeah I would! If it means making you happy, I'll kick all three of them into the ground and have them begging me for mercy!"

Hayner stared at him for several seconds like he was crazy, but then a smile broke through and he reached over the other to get his hand into the popcorn again.

"That would be entertaining to watch, but I'd rather not have to escort you to the hospital for your injuries and then to the police for assault."

Roxas' determination melted into a grin when he finally saw the other smile and his mood lift. He moved to put the popcorn bowl between them so that Hayner didn't have to reach over him.

"It would be worth it."

Hayner paused and then laughed, grabbing one of the pillows on Roxas' bed and hitting him in the face with it.

"You're such a sap sometimes!"

Roxas laughed and grabbed his own pillow, hitting Hayner in the face in return.

"It got you to smile, didn't it? Totally worth it!"

Hayner grinned and then they both settled back to watch the movie some more, Roxas turning up the volume so that they could hear it better.

Another five minutes passed before Hayner looked over to him and frowned a little.

"So…how was class for you? You were paired with Riku, right? How did that go?"

Roxas frowned a little at the reminder and then shrugged a little offhandedly.

"It was fine. We kept to ourselves."

Hayner reached over to grab the remote and then turned the TV down again, shifting so that he could look at Roxas a little better.

"Did he stare at you the whole time?" he said with a light hint of a tease. Since apparently that was all Riku did when he was around Roxas.

"I caught him looking more than once. He…actually just worked on the problem more than anything." Roxas said, his eyes fixated on the TV, another handful of popcorn going to his mouth. Hayner tilted his head a little and then grabbed a handful for himself.

"He just did the work? Did you talk to him at all?"

Roxas immediately looked disturbed, almost offended by the very notion.

"No! Of course not! I don't want to talk to a creep like him. He just pulled the paper over to him and got to work. I just let him do it."

Hayner paused at the sudden show of defense and then raised an eyebrow. So Riku did all the work by himself?

"Did he put both of your names on it?"

Roxas paused at that and then looked over to him with a small frown.

"I don't see how that's important, Hayner…"

"Well…he did all of the work and he still gave you credit, right?"

Roxas seemed to ponder this for several seconds, and Hayner watched as he could almost see the wheels turning inside of that blond head. Eventually, Roxas scoffed and looked away.

"Whatever. He's a creep. I'll just have to make sure to sit in a different spot from now on so we won't get paired up."

Hayner couldn't stop the small smirk that came to his lips when Roxas waved it off so easily. He could see the light flush on his cheeks even in the slightly darkened room.

"Right," Hayner said, letting the conversation about Riku stop there, "So did you actually understand what it was asking? The prick and I never actually got around to starting it."

Roxas' flush got darker and he sighed a little.

"I didn't…Riku started pulling out delta t's and delta p's and I got completely lost. I had planned on going through the reading again tonight, if you want to work with me. Maybe do some practice problems?"

Hayner seemed more than a little unhappy with that, a small sneer on his lips at the thought of having to do more physics after having had the class already this morning.

"Do we have to?"

"There's no telling what he'll have us do in class next time, right? Might as well try to understand…"

Hayner let out a soft sigh. Roxas was right.

"Fine. We can. Just don't expect me to be happy during it."

Roxas laughed and nudged him.

"Don't worry. I don't expect you to be happy at all during it. After we do that, we can hit up the mall, alright? I've been craving ice cream from that shop since we left."

Hayner brightened at the hint of a reward and then nodded.

"Want me to see if Pence wants to come? Olette's already moved, and I'm sure he's feeling lonely without his 'girlfriend' around."

Roxas grinned and then nodded to Hayner's pocket.

"Text him now and find out."

Hayner did as he was told and pulled out his cell phone, tapping out a quick message to their friend. It was only a few minutes later that they got a response. Hayner gave a sound of disappointment and then shrugged.

"He said he's bogged down with school stuff. Apparently their exams are starting up."

Roxas shrugged it off and then smiled.

"Maybe next time. Just you and me then!"

Hayner paused and then laughed, shooting Roxas a grin.

"Like a date or something?"

Roxas hesitated and then reached over to grab the pillow and hit Hayner in the face with it again.

"Don't make it weird. It's not a date."

Hayner was laughing behind the pillow, muttering something about 'your face was priceless'.

"Of course, of course. How hilarious would it be if we saw Riku and them at the mall, though. We could pretend we're on a date and make them jealous!"

Roxas raised an eyebrow and his hand gripped the pillow again, just in case.

"Why would that make Riku jealous? I get why it would bother Seifer, but Riku?"

"Oh…I just think it would. It's just a hunch."

Roxas rolled his eyes and turned back to the movie, turning the volume up.

"Just watch the movie, Hayner."

Hayner grinned from ear to ear and then settled back.

"Yes, dear."

The pillow hit his face again.

* * *

**Well there is the third chapter, my dears. I worked extra hard to try to get it out before the end of the month. If you've made it this far with the fic, please review and let me know what you think. I would greatly appreciate it. **


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